Re: I'm on the Nazr Mohammed bandwagon

["John Lyell" <johnlyell@hotmail.com>]

Good point. For some reason he did not see a lot of time Philly and Larry
brown is a decent judge of talent.
But then they had 2 high priced guys in Ratliff & Geiger.

----- Original Message -----
From: "David A Wickerham" <aw623@bfn.org>
To: "Berry, Mark S" <berrym@BATTELLE.ORG>
Cc: <celtics@igtc.com>
Sent: Friday, June 29, 2001 9:42 AM
Subject: Re: I'm on the Nazr Mohammed bandwagon


>
> Beware of Centers who ahve one big year (or half year in Nazr's case).
> Consider the cases of Ike Austin, Matt Geiger, and Yogi Stewart before
> mortgaging the house on Mohammed.
>
>
> On Fri, 29 Jun 2001, Berry, Mark  S wrote:
>
> > We're at a disadvantage because we can only offer the $4.5 mill
exception,
> > but things can be done. If Nazr makes it clear to the Hawks he will take
> > that exception elsewhere because he wants to start, then he has a little
> > leverage to force a sign-and-trade. I certainly could see a Vitaly-based
> > sign-and-trade package going to the Hawks for Nazr, and locking him up
at
> > somewhere around $6 mill a year. The guy isn't an all-star, but he's
better
> > than anyone on our roster. He'd come in and start right away, and keep
> > Battie and Blount in their natural roles. He's a pretty good rebounder
and
> > shot-blocker, about 6-10 but solidly built. He'd be a great addition.
> > Everyone knows about his friendship with Toine, and I wonder how he
feels
> > about O'Brien? Just seems like a natural target.
> >
> > By the way, whether it's Nazr or someone else, I expect the Celts to
> > actively explore moving either Vitaly or Battie this summer for either a
> > point guard (not likely) or more of an impact big man. I have no idea
who
> > (other than Nazr) but it just seems to make sense. I could see Portland
> > having a real interest in Vitaly, and Dale Davis is available.
> >
> > One more thing... I don't know who mentioned it in a post yesterday, but
I
> > wanted to comment on the thought that the triangle offense seems like a
> > natural fit for the Celtics. I think that's genius. Now, it will never
> > happen because O'Brien would rather play five small forwards and have
them
> > shoot 3-pointers all day (oops, that slipped out)... but the triangle
would
> > be perfect for the Celts. It de-emphasizes the traditional point guard
and
> > center (our weaknesses), emphasizes long, versatile slashers and
shooters,
> > and demands passing and player movement. With all of these talented
> > swingmen, I think we'd see a beautiful offense. Too bad Tex Winter
didn't
> > join the team with Dick Harter.
> >
> > Mark
> >
> > P.S. I agree with Josh that as optimistic as most of us are, we probably
> > still are underestimating the talent we just pulled. This draft was
> > incredible. I think in Joe Johnson and Kedrick Brown, we got what
normally
> > would be top-five talent in most drafts, and Forte probably late
lottery. We
> > may not see it all this year, but the first two guys could turn into
> > definite impact players, and Forte may even become a starter at some
point.
> > It creates a logjam, but that will sort itself out through trades.
> >
> >
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------
>   Dave Wickerham
>   aw623@freenet.buffalo.edu
>   Saratoga Springs, NY
>
>